Wanderlust

Has anyone seen Wanderlust? In a fairly calm time of year, somehow this Judd Apatow vehicle has come with little to no fanfare. Plus it’s starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. So there are famous people in it. Maybe it was the full frontal male nudity alluded to in the trailer that kept people away. The film has Aniston and Rudd moving to Georgia after both have bad luck on the employment front in New York. Before arriving at his brother’s house in Atlanta they stop off for a night at a hotel. But the bed and breakfast turns out to be a commune full of hippies and such.

The basis for most of the comedy in the film is the fish out of water scenario the leads are placed in. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always deliver the laughs. Some of the characters are just angry hippies who contribute nothing more than being annoying. Some do better though. Justin Theroux plays the free love spouting “cool hippie” and Alan Alda is great as the burnt out founder, who keeps repeating the names of his old friends in any situation. But an actor with his résumé deserves a few more scenes than he gets.

Through one absolutely hilarious scene with Rudd in front of a mirror, the movie can be looked at as memorable. But for the most part it’s just pretty funny. It would be nice to see Rudd get away from the hippie scene after back to back projects. (Our Idiot Brother is the other.) Coincidentally they both have Kathryn Hahn in support as an angry hippie. So maybe it’s time for something else. But Wanderlust is definitely worth more than its lack of marketing campaign would suggest. Joe Lo Truglio’s nudity is quite jarring just so you know. He plays a nudist winemaker, how cultural.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.